Strategy

Romania joined the EU in 2007 and the majority of the population has still a positive attitude towards the European Union. In the field of culture there could be a better utilisation of EU funds.

Romania is a multi-ethnic country with a legal framework for the minorities (political representation, minorities schools etc.). Therefore some of the minorities have special links to some of the EUNIC Cluster members e.g. German, Hungarian, Turkish. However especially in the field of the integration of Roma and LGBT communities there is still scope for development.

Generally there is a very vibrant cultural scene with various important state institutions such as the National theatre or the Museum of the Contemporary Art as well as important festivals of international repute like the George Enescu Festival, the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) or the International Theater Festival in Sibiu (Sibfest) yet this holds mainly for the capital and a few major provincial towns and the independent scene is comparatively poorly supported.

Communism ensured the rise of many cultural venues such as theatres, opera houses and music halls. However the framework in which cultural organizations have to operate needs to be further developed. The current cultural infrastructure, especially in management, administration and finance, can benefit from international knowledge exchanges and experiences.

EUNIC Bucharest was founded in 2008 and consists of 15 members from 14 EU member states and one associated member from Turkey. Since many EUNIC cluster members operate in the whole country the EUNIC cluster was renamed EUNIC Romania in July 2016. Furthermore some cluster members are also active in the Republic of Moldova and have supported the establishment of EUNIC Moldova in October 2015.

The Cluster annually organises common projects, out of which the biggest is the European Film Festival followed by the Night of European Cultural Institutes, European Day of Languages, European Literature Night and European Comic Salon. However they unfortunately still don´t go beyond collective showcasing and the EUNIC label as such has not gained visibility. A strategic meeting of the Cluster led to the decision of reviewing the common projects to give them a specific topic in relation to the European context.

The cluster agreed on using relevant occasions such as the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU (January-June 2019) and the European Capital of Culture in Romania 2021 for communicating European values to a broad public.

So far the EUNIC Cluster did not cooperate closely with local stakeholders.

Cluster Mission Statement

EUNIC Romania aims to create effective partnerships and networks between European Union National Institutes for Culture in order to improve and promote cultural diversity and understanding between European societies and to strengthen international dialogue and cultural cooperation with the neighbouring countries outside the EU. By pooling together the resources and expertise of its members EUNIC Romania carries out joint work in the areas of social inclusion through art and culture and promotion of languages and multilingualism. With a special focus on peer learning initiatives we strengthen the competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors. The Cluster will act as a partner of Romanian stakeholders including the EC Representation to Romania in defining and implementing European cultural policy.

Background

The strategy meeting in January 2016 in Constanta revealed that the cluster needs to become a relevant partner to the host country, that means the local NGOs and the authorities.

Since Romania is a multiethnic country EUNIC Romania considers the two proposed areas identified by the Working Group European Strategic Framework as relevant.

The key stakeholders will be NGOs active in the fields of culture, ethnic minorities, migrants, gender issues, people with disabilities, new technology, as well as the local authorities active in the focus areas and the EC Representation to Romania.

To enhance a better mutual understanding and facilitate cooperation amongst the EUNIC Cluster members themselves and the Romanian authorities it is necessary to pay particular attention to link the existing common projects with additional events dedicated to skills, training and knowledge transfer in the specific common topic of the respective project.

Furthermore, there is still – a lack of knowledge about European funding programmes and initiatives like awards, so the EUNIC Cluster should also aim at raising awareness of existing programmes and initiatives.

Strategic Objective 1:

Eunic Romania facilitates intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding across cultures by developing projects in the fields of social inclusion through arts and culture as well as multilingualism.

Strategic Objective 2:

To strengthen the Cluster´s advocacy for social inclusion through arts and culture as well as multilingualism.

Strategic Objective 3:

To support and facilitate knowledge transfer, training and capacity building within the cluster members and with the cluster partners in the fields of social inclusion through arts and culture and multilingualism.